Federal judge rules @TexasGOP can hold in-person convention in Houston, lawyers say

[Gothmog]

Link to tweet

A Houston federal judge ruled Friday that the Republican Party of Texas may proceed with its in-person convention, according to lawyers involved in the litigation, a striking last-minute development as party officials have struggled to get a virtual gathering underway.

Jared Woodfill, an attorney for Houston activist Steve Hotze, who helped file the lawsuit, said Judge Lynn Hughes ruled that the party can hold an in-person convention both this weekend and next weekend — and “that the City of Houston may not interfere with it.”

According to Woodfill, Hughes concluded that the state party, which joined the lawsuit Friday, “made a good-faith effort to have a virtual convention" and that Houston put the party "in an untenable position to do it [virtually] in a very short period of time.”

Earlier this week, the party’s State Republican Executive Committee voted to move the convention online after losing separate legal battles to proceed with an in-person gathering, which was set to take place Thursday through Saturday at Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center before Houston officials canceled it.

[leftieNanner]

1. Let them have their in-person convention

But just don't staff the convention center. One guy unlocks the front doors. No staff. No custodians. No food vendors.

[Leghorn21]

2. Exactly, leftie!!

C’MON DOWN, LOSERS, HAVE AT IT

[DFW]

4. As far as I'm concerned, you know that one guy who unlocks the front doors?

Once they're all in there, I hope he locks them again, and that no one remembered to bring masks.

[leftieNanner]

5. LOL

Thanks for the !!

[DFW]

6. Hey, they are so big on preventing Democrats from voting

Let them thin out their own ranks for a change!

[Nevilledog]

3. ...

[CatWoman]

16. ....

[gratuitous]

7. If they're going to fight that hard to get infected

It would be a discourtesy to deny these knuckleheads their big chance.

[phylny]

8. Please proceed.

[LisaL]

9. And make sure air conditioning is at full blast.

Which it would have to be in Houston.

[Blue_true]

24. And 100% recirculated air. SARS-COV-2 will love taking several bite at that apple. nt

[grumpyduck]

10. May the great God of Karma

swoop down and have a galaxy-class case of Montezuma's Revenge over all of them.

[beachbumbob]

11. I applaude karma

[Hortensis]

12. At least no one you care about will have to attend those.

[Blue_true]

25. .....

[Trenzalore]

13. What could go wrong?

[LeftInTX]

14. They'll spread their CV19 all over the state

[Gothmog]

15. Meanwhile, @SylvesterTurner says Houston will appeal:

Link to tweet

[LiberalFighter]

17. Judge needs to be impeached and removed.

[ProfessorGAC]

28. +1

There doesn't seem to be any fine point of law that justifies a mass gathering during a pandemic, in a hotspot.
I'm sure the judge did some legal gymnastics, but the little I know about law, is the reasonable person standard.
No reasonable person would think this is in the public interest.

[mcar]

18. I hope they all attend

I am done worrying about people who want to kill themselves and everyone around them.

[LeftInTX]

30. Yes and when they spread it to others like me

[Phoenix61]

19. I don't think the people in Houston are

going to like this. Maybe help some of them see the Repubs could give three shits about them. Flip a couple of votes. Also, those venues a lot of times use a company to provide services that has contract employees who work the jobs they want to work. Be a shame if no one wants to work that one.

[Gothmog]

26. No we do not like this

[lpbk2713]

20. They have my blessing.

Remember attendees, that CV thing is just a big hoax, right?

[rownesheck]

21. I hate our court system.

Didn't a judge just say the other day that they couldn't?! Now this one says they can?! Why can't another one say today that they can't? Who the hell decides which decision is the right one?! Annoying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dalton99a]

22. Idiot Reagan judge

In the case of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Houston Funding II, Ltd. et al., Case Number H-11-2442 (S.D. Tex. Feb. 2, 2012), Donnicia Venters, a mother represented by the EEOC, claimed that she was fired from Houston Funding due to her request to be allowed to pump breastmilk upon her return to work after giving birth. Houston Funding claimed that it had fired Venters for abandoning her job for over two months after giving birth.

Venters sued Houston Funding, alleging that the company had discriminated against her based on her sex.[3] Citing several previous District Court opinions which had already ruled on the issue, Judge Hughes explained that breastfeeding is not covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.[4]

In the ruling, Hughes writes, "Even if the company's claim that she was fired for abandonment is meant to hide the real reason – she wanted to pump breast milk – lactation is not pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition. She gave birth on Dec. 11, 2009. After that day, she was no longer pregnant and her pregnancy-related conditions ended. Firing someone because of lactation or breast-pumping is not sex discrimination."[4][5] Hughes was overruled by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals which held that Venters had established a prima facie case of sex discrimination under Title VII.[6]

Upon dismissing the indictment in a case titled United States v. Swenson, Judge Hughes sharply criticized a female prosecutor on the case, saying "It was a lot simpler when you guys wore dark suits white shirts and navy ties . . . we didn’t let girls do it in the old days." The Fifth Circuit reversed, and stated that Judge Hughes' comments were "demeaning, inappropriate and beneath the dignity of a federal judge."[7]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Hughes

[Gothmog]

27. This is the only or one of a couple federal judges holding live hearings

[Blue_true]

23. Please proceed, Texas Republicans. nt

[MagickMuffin]

29. Just remember Plebs the BIG WIGS your party's "Leaders" won't be anywhere near Houston

They'll be dialing it in. They know NOT to attend in person.

Weird they don't care about their voters, which they'll need in November. Ah well!

[OverBurn]

31. Dance! Shout! Hung Each Other! Kiss Each Other On Both Cheeks! What Could Happen?